Systems and methods of real-time container deployment

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving a trigger to deploy a particular container on cloud resources accessible thereto such that the cloud resources are provided by a plurality of cloud providers and such that the computer system and the plurality of cloud providers are configured to negotiate container deployment using an information exchange protocol. The information exchange protocol includes a preconfigured inquiry format and a preconfigured inquiry-response format. The method further includes generating a performance inquiry in relation to the particular container. In addition, the method includes transmitting the performance inquiry to the plurality of cloud providers. Moreover, the method includes receiving inquiry responses from at least some of the plurality of cloud providers. Additionally, the method includes causing the particular container to be deployed on resources of the particular cloud provider.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to application management and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to systems and methods for container execution coordination.

History of Related Art

Virtualization is often used to allocate finite hardware resources among multiple users. While virtualization can improve resource efficiency, the deployment process is often not efficient. For example, decisions regarding how virtualization is deployed have performance consequences.

Moreover, as the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a method is performed by a computer system. The method includes receiving a trigger to deploy a particular container on cloud resources accessible to the computer system such that the cloud resources are provided by a plurality of cloud providers and such that the computer system and the plurality of cloud providers are configured to negotiate container deployment using an information exchange protocol. The information exchange protocol includes a preconfigured inquiry format and a preconfigured inquiry-response format, the preconfigured inquiry format specifying an arrangement of inquiry fields, the preconfigured inquiry-response format specifying an arrangement of response fields. The method further includes, responsive to the trigger, generating a performance inquiry in relation to the particular container such that the performance inquiry includes inquiry values corresponding to the arrangement of inquiry fields and such that the inquiry values include an identifier of the particular container and an execution constraint. In addition, the method includes transmitting the performance inquiry to the plurality of cloud providers. Moreover, the method includes receiving inquiry responses from at least some of the plurality of cloud providers, wherein the inquiry responses each comprise response values corresponding to the arrangement of response fields, the response values indicating capacity to execute the particular container in satisfaction of the execution constraint. Additionally, the method includes, responsive to selection of a particular cloud provider, causing the particular container to be deployed on resources of the particular cloud provider.

In one embodiment, an information handling system includes a processor. The processor is operable to implement a method. The method includes receiving a trigger to deploy a particular container on cloud resources accessible to the information handling system such that the cloud resources are provided by a plurality of cloud providers and such that the computer system and the plurality of cloud providers are configured to negotiate container deployment using an information exchange protocol. The information exchange protocol includes a preconfigured inquiry format and a preconfigured inquiry-response format, the preconfigured inquiry format specifying an arrangement of inquiry fields, the preconfigured inquiry-response format specifying an arrangement of response fields. The method further includes, responsive to the trigger, generating a performance inquiry in relation to the particular container such that the performance inquiry includes inquiry values corresponding to the arrangement of inquiry fields and such that the inquiry values include an identifier of the particular container and an execution constraint. In addition, the method includes transmitting the performance inquiry to the plurality of cloud providers. Moreover, the method includes receiving inquiry responses from at least some of the plurality of cloud providers, wherein the inquiry responses each comprise response values corresponding to the arrangement of response fields, the response values indicating capacity to execute the particular container in satisfaction of the execution constraint. Additionally, the method includes, responsive to selection of a particular cloud provider, causing the particular container to be deployed on resources of the particular cloud provider.

In one embodiment, a computer-program product includes a non-transitory computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein. The computer-readable program code is adapted to be executed to implement a method. The method includes receiving a trigger to deploy a particular container on cloud resources accessible to the information handling system such that the cloud resources are provided by a plurality of cloud providers and such that the computer system and the plurality of cloud providers are configured to negotiate container deployment using an information exchange protocol. The information exchange protocol includes a preconfigured inquiry format and a preconfigured inquiry-response format, the preconfigured inquiry format specifying an arrangement of inquiry fields, the preconfigured inquiry-response format specifying an arrangement of response fields. The method further includes, responsive to the trigger, generating a performance inquiry in relation to the particular container such that the performance inquiry includes inquiry values corresponding to the arrangement of inquiry fields and such that the inquiry values include an identifier of the particular container and an execution constraint. In addition, the method includes transmitting the performance inquiry to the plurality of cloud providers. Moreover, the method includes receiving inquiry responses from at least some of the plurality of cloud providers, wherein the inquiry responses each comprise response values corresponding to the arrangement of response fields, the response values indicating capacity to execute the particular container in satisfaction of the execution constraint. Additionally, the method includes, responsive to selection of a particular cloud provider, causing the particular container to be deployed on resources of the particular cloud provider.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the method and apparatus of the present disclosure may be obtained by reference to the following Detailed Description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying Drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example computing environment for implementing a central management system.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an information handling system.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process for deploying an application.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a process for real-time determination of cloud providers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In various embodiments, a virtualized computer system can include one or more host servers that are implemented with one or more physical computing devices. In some cases, the host servers can host one or more virtual machines executing on top of a virtualization layer. The virtualization layer may include, for example, a hypervisor that decouples the physical hardware of the host server from the operating systems of the virtual machines. Such abstraction allows, for example, for multiple virtual machines with different operating systems and applications to run in isolation or substantially in isolation on the same physical machine. Some or all virtual machines can include a guest operating system and associated applications.

In certain embodiments, containers can be used to reduce overhead and improve performance relative to virtual machines. In general, operating systems can include kernel space and user space. The kernel space can correspond to a protected area of memory where an operating system kernel performs tasks such as executing processes and handling interrupts. User space can correspond to an area of memory where user-specific tasks are performed (e.g., running programs in a graphical user interface (GUI)). In general, one of the ways in which containers are distinct from virtual machines is that containers can be used to allow multiple isolated user-space instances on a same operating system, thereby resulting in multiple users sharing the same kernel space. Examples of container formats include, but are not limited to, Docker and Rocket.

In the case of containers, there is no need for a separate kernel to be loaded for each user session. Thus, as a general matter, containers use fewer physical resources (e.g., memory and processor) than virtual machines executing similar workloads. However, containers introduce various technical problems. For example, containers are often not deployed on a cloud provider that is most capable at a given time. It is technologically difficult to determine an optimal cloud provider on which to deploy a container. Different cloud providers provide different sets of information or represent information such as performance metrics in different ways. Thus, direct comparisons among cloud providers is often not feasible.

The present disclosure describes examples of centralizing management of containers. In certain embodiments, a central management system and a plurality of cloud providers can be configured to negotiate deployment of an application or container using an information exchange protocol. The information exchange protocol can specify a preconfigured inquiry format and a preconfigured inquiry-response format for requesting and providing performance data, respectively. Advantageously, in certain embodiments, this can allow containers to be deployed on best-fit cloud providers based on performance data.

For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system may include any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operable to compute, calculate, determine, classify, process, transmit, receive, retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, communicate, manifest, detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information, intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or other purposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personal computer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device (e.g., personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone), server (e.g., blade server or rack server), a network storage device, or any other suitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality, and price. The information handling system may include random access memory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a central processing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/or other types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of the information handling system may include one or more disk drives, one or more network ports for communicating with external devices as well as various input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse, touchscreen and/or a video display. The information handling system may also include one or more buses operable to transmit communications between the various hardware components.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example computing environment 100 for implementing a central management system 140. The computing environment 100 includes the central management system 140, tenant systems 110, cloud-provider systems 124, user systems 160 and one or more data stores 150, each of which is operable to communicate over a network 108. The network 108 may be a private network, a public network, a local or wide area network, a portion of the Internet, combinations of the same, and/or the like.

In certain embodiments, the central management system 140 can centrally manage container-based deployments of applications for its tenants. In many cases, an application can be distributed across multiple containers with each container providing a microservice in support of the application. In general, containers of an application can be deployed on managed resources of the central management system 140. As will be described in greater detail below, the managed resources can reside on the cloud-provider systems 124.

The central management system 140 and the plurality of cloud-provider systems 124 are configured to negotiate container deployment using an information exchange protocol. In general, the information exchange protocol specifies preconfigured metadata formats for particular exchanges of deployment-related information. In various embodiments, the information exchange protocol can specify, among other things, a preconfigured inquiry format for requesting information about a current ability to accommodate a specific container, a preconfigured inquiry-response format for providing requested information, and a preconfigured scheduling message format for deploying a container. Each respective format can specify an arrangement of particular types of data fields. In some embodiments, the preconfigured inquiry format and/or the preconfigured inquiry-response format can be expressed in a markup language such as XML.

In particular, in the computing environment 100, the tenant systems 110 can be served by the central management system 140. The tenant systems 110 can each be considered an abstraction of actual deployments on one or more the cloud-provider systems 110 for particular tenants. For example, one of the tenant systems 110 is shown as owned or operated by “Tenant A” while another system 110 is owned or operated by a different tenant, “Tenant B.” The tenant systems 110 shown can be owned or operated by the same or different entities. For example, Tenants A and B can represent customers (e.g., entities such as companies or individuals) of an operator of the central management system 140. Although the term “tenant” is used herein to describe the systems 110 or owners/operators thereof, in addition to having its ordinary meaning, the term “tenant” can, but need not, refer to tenancy in a multitenant software architecture.

The cloud-provider systems 124 are shown to include a cloud-provider system 124(1), a cloud-provider system 124(2) and a cloud-provider system 124(N). It should be appreciated that three cloud-provider systems are shown among the cloud-provider systems 124 only for illustrative purposes. In various implementations, any number of cloud-provider systems can be included among the cloud-provider systems 124.

In a typical embodiment, the cloud-provider systems 124 each provide hardware and/or software computing resources as a service. In various cases, the resources provided by the cloud-provider systems can include computers (e.g., physical computers such as host servers), raw (block) and file-based storage, firewalls, load balancers, internet protocol (IP) addresses, virtual local area networks (VLANs), software bundles, etc. In some cases, the resources offered by the cloud-provider systems 124 can be offered according to deployment models defined by specific business, operational and technical requirements. For example, the cloud-provider systems can include cloud-based hosting services such as the Azure™ service provided by Microsoft® or the EC2™ platform provided by Amazon®.

More specifically, the tenant systems 110 can include one or more managed containers 120 that are deployed on one or more managed resources 122. In some embodiments, the managed resources 122 can be virtual machines as described in relation to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/931,454 (“the '454 application”). Also as described in the '454 application, the managed resources 122 can include container-management agents that function to facilitate management and control of the managed containers 120 by a central management system such as the central management system 140. The'454 application is hereby incorporated by reference.

In some embodiments, each managed resource can be tenant-specific such that each managed resource only includes containers of a particular tenant. In these embodiments, virtual machines can be used to be provide additional isolation between containers of disparate tenants. In other embodiments, containers of multiple tenants can be permitted to share resources such as, for example, a virtual machine. In these embodiments, the managed resources 122 shown in relation to Tenant A, for example, can at least partially overlap the managed resources 122 shown in relation to Tenant B.

In the illustrated embodiment, the central management system 140 can include a deployment module 142, a selection engine 144 and a container manager 146. Each of these components can be implemented with hardware and/or software, including (optionally) virtual machines. In an example, the central management system 140 can be implemented as a single management server. In another example, the central management system 140 can be implemented in a plurality of virtual or physical servers, which may or may not be geographically co-located. In some embodiments, the central management system 140 and/or other aspects of the computing environment 100 may itself be hosted on a cloud-provider system such as, for example, one of the cloud-provider systems 124.

In certain embodiments, features of the components of the central management system 140 can be made accessible over an interface to the user systems 160. The user systems 160 can include any type of computing device, including information handling systems such as desktops, laptops, tablets, smartphones, PDAs, to name a few. The user systems 160 can be operated by users associated with the tenants or by other users.

The deployment module 142 can supervise and cause container-based deployment of an application on one or more of the cloud-provider systems 124. As described previously, an application can include interrelated containers that each provides a microservice in support of the application. In general, the deployment module 142 can interact with the cloud-provider systems 124 to cause deployment of containers of an application on cloud resources. More particularly, the deployment module 142 can coordinate with the selection engine 144 to determine, for example, on which of the cloud-provider systems 124 to deploy a given container.

In some cases, the functionality of the deployment module 142 can include causing a target virtual machine to be deployed and provisioning a target virtual machine with a container-execution engine which enables user-space isolation for multiple containers. In some cases, the deployment module 142 can publish a configuration interface to the user systems 160, for example, for administrators, super users or other users (e.g., of a particular tenant) to select or specify such commands. In various embodiments, the deployment module 142 can store a command set for multiple container formats and platforms.

The selection engine 144 can operate to select particular cloud providers of the cloud-provider system for deployment of containers. More particularly, the deployment module 142 and the selection engine 144 can collectively implement the information exchange protocol described above. The selection engine 144 can generate a performance inquiry, in relation to a particular container to be deployed, such that the performance inquiry includes inquiry values corresponding to the arrangement of data fields specified by the preconfigured inquiry format. Performance inquiries can be used to request data useful for evaluating cloud providers and selecting a cloud provider on which to deploy an application and/or container. Thereafter, the selection engine 144 can transmit the performance inquiry to some or all of the cloud-provider systems 124.

As mentioned above, because the cloud-provider systems 124 are configured to communicate using the same information exchange protocol, the cloud-provider systems 124 can generate and transmit inquiry responses that conform to the preconfigured inquiry-response format. The inquiry responses can each include response values that correspond to the arrangement of data fields specified by the inquiry-response format and that are responsive to the performance inquiry. Once a cloud provider has been selected by the selection engine 144, the deployment module 142 can transmit a scheduling message to the selected cloud provider so that the container or application will be deployed. Further examples of how the deployment module 142 and the selection engine 144 can operate will be described in relation to FIGS. 3-4.

In an example, performance data that is requested using the preconfigured inquiry format and provided using the preconfigured inquiry-response format can include performance metrics as described in relation to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/706,060 (“the '060 application”), which application is hereby incorporated by reference. By of further example, the performance data can include measurements relating to memory input/output (I/O) that identify how fast the memory in the cloud hosting facility can be written to and read from, a sustainable memory bandwidth (e.g., using the STREAM or similar benchmark), CPU speed, number of available CPU cores (e.g., as many software applications support multi-threading), processing power (e.g., floating point operations per seconds (FLOPS) using LINPACK or similar benchmark), disk I/O identifying how fast data storage can be accessed (e.g., using benchmarks such as Bonnie++, IOzone, or the like), file compression (e.g., using a benchmark such as BZIP2), network I/O (e.g., using benchmarks such as Iperf, MPPtest, etc.), resource contention, another metric, or any combination thereof.

The container manager 146 can serve to manage containers such as, for example, the managed containers 120, for tenants. In certain embodiments, the container manager 146 can issue commands to control operation of containers. For example, various commands can start or stop containers, perform configuration management, add or remove permissioned users to a container, mount disks, combinations of same and/or the like. In some cases, the container manager 146 can publish a configuration interface to the user systems 160, for example, for administrators, super users or other users (e.g., of a particular tenant) to select or specify such commands. In some embodiments, the container manager 146 can cause such commands to be issued over an established connection to container-management agents resident on virtual machines of the cloud-provider systems 124.

In general, the one or more data stores 150 can include any information collected, stored or used by the central management system 140. For example, in various embodiments, the one or more data stores 150 can include container images, deployment settings for applications (e.g., on a tenant-specific and/or application-specific basis), applications for deployment, metadata for applications to be deployed (e.g., metadata which indicates interrelated containers of an application), performance data, combinations of the same and/or the like. In certain embodiments, data stored in the one or more data stores 150 can take the form of repositories, flat files, databases, etc.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of an information handling system 200 that, in some cases, can be representative, for example, of the tenant systems 110, a host server, the user systems 160 and/or the central management system 140 of FIG. 1. The information handling system 200 includes an application 210 operable to execute on computer resources 256. The application 210 can be similar, for example, to the deployment module 142, the selection engine 144 and/or the container manager 146. In particular embodiments, the information handling system 200 may perform one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein. In particular embodiments, one or more computer systems may provide functionality described or illustrated herein. In particular embodiments, encoded software running on one or more computer systems may perform one or more steps of one or more methods described or illustrated herein or provide functionality described or illustrated herein.

The components of the information handling system 200 may comprise any suitable physical form, configuration, number, type and/or layout. As an example, and not by way of limitation, the information handling system 200 may comprise an embedded computer system, a system-on-chip (SOC), a single-board computer system (SBC) (such as, for example, a computer-on-module (COM) or system-on-module (SOM)), a desktop computer system, a laptop or notebook computer system, an interactive kiosk, a mainframe, a mesh of computer systems, a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wearable or body-borne computer, a server, or a combination of two or more of these. Where appropriate, the information handling system 200 may include one or more computer systems; be unitary or distributed; span multiple locations; span multiple machines; or reside in a cloud, which may include one or more cloud components in one or more networks.

In the depicted embodiment, the information handling system 200 includes a processor 242, memory 244, storage 248, interface 246, and bus 252. Although a particular information handling system is depicted having a particular number of particular components in a particular arrangement, this disclosure contemplates any suitable information handling system having any suitable number of any suitable components in any suitable arrangement.

Processor 242 may be a microprocessor, controller, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to execute, either alone or in conjunction with other components, (e.g., memory 244), the application 210. Such functionality may include providing various features discussed herein. In particular embodiments, processor 242 may include hardware for executing instructions, such as those making up the application 210. As an example and not by way of limitation, to execute instructions, processor 242 may retrieve (or fetch) instructions from an internal register, an internal cache, memory 244, or storage 248; decode and execute them; and then write one or more results to an internal register, an internal cache, memory 244, or storage 248.

In particular embodiments, processor 242 may include one or more internal caches for data, instructions, or addresses. This disclosure contemplates processor 242 including any suitable number of any suitable internal caches, where appropriate. As an example and not by way of limitation, processor 242 may include one or more instruction caches, one or more data caches, and one or more translation lookaside buffers (TLBs). Instructions in the instruction caches may be copies of instructions in memory 244 or storage 248 and the instruction caches may speed up retrieval of those instructions by processor 242. Data in the data caches may be copies of data in memory 244 or storage 248 for instructions executing at processor 242 to operate on; the results of previous instructions executed at processor 242 for access by subsequent instructions executing at processor 242, or for writing to memory 244, or storage 248; or other suitable data. The data caches may speed up read or write operations by processor 242. The TLBs may speed up virtual-address translations for processor 242. In particular embodiments, processor 242 may include one or more internal registers for data, instructions, or addresses. Depending on the embodiment, processor 242 may include any suitable number of any suitable internal registers, where appropriate. Where appropriate, processor 242 may include one or more arithmetic logic units (ALUs); be a multi-core processor; include one or more processors 242; or any other suitable processor.

Memory 244 may be any form of volatile or non-volatile memory including, without limitation, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, removable media, or any other suitable local or remote memory component or components. In particular embodiments, memory 244 may include random access memory (RAM). This RAM may be volatile memory, where appropriate. Where appropriate, this RAM may be dynamic RAM (DRAM) or static RAM (SRAM). Moreover, where appropriate, this RAM may be single-ported or multi-ported RAM, or any other suitable type of RAM or memory. Memory 244 may include one or more memories 244, where appropriate. Memory 244 may store any suitable data or information utilized by the information handling system 200, including software embedded in a computer readable medium, and/or encoded logic incorporated in hardware or otherwise stored (e.g., firmware). In particular embodiments, memory 244 may include main memory for storing instructions for processor 242 to execute or data for processor 242 to operate on. In particular embodiments, one or more memory management units (MMUs) may reside between processor 242 and memory 244 and facilitate accesses to memory 244 requested by processor 242.

As an example and not by way of limitation, the information handling system 200 may load instructions from storage 248 or another source (such as, for example, another computer system) to memory 244. Processor 242 may then load the instructions from memory 244 to an internal register or internal cache. To execute the instructions, processor 242 may retrieve the instructions from the internal register or internal cache and decode them. During or after execution of the instructions, processor 242 may write one or more results (which may be intermediate or final results) to the internal register or internal cache. Processor 242 may then write one or more of those results to memory 244. In particular embodiments, processor 242 may execute only instructions in one or more internal registers or internal caches or in memory 244 (as opposed to storage 248 or elsewhere) and may operate only on data in one or more internal registers or internal caches or in memory 244 (as opposed to storage 248 or elsewhere).

In particular embodiments, storage 248 may include mass storage for data or instructions. As an example and not by way of limitation, storage 248 may include a hard disk drive (HDD), a floppy disk drive, flash memory, an optical disc, a magneto-optical disc, magnetic tape, or a Universal Serial Bus (USB) drive or a combination of two or more of these. Storage 248 may include removable or non-removable (or fixed) media, where appropriate. Storage 248 may be internal or external to the information handling system 200, where appropriate. In particular embodiments, storage 248 may be non-volatile, solid-state memory. In particular embodiments, storage 248 may include read-only memory (ROM). Where appropriate, this ROM may be mask-programmed ROM, programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), electrically alterable ROM (EAROM), or flash memory or a combination of two or more of these. Storage 248 may take any suitable physical form and may comprise any suitable number or type of storage. Storage 248 may include one or more storage control units facilitating communication between processor 242 and storage 248, where appropriate.

In particular embodiments, interface 246 may include hardware, encoded software, or both providing one or more interfaces for communication (such as, for example, packet-based communication) among any networks, any network devices, and/or any other computer systems. As an example and not by way of limitation, communication interface 246 may include a network interface controller (NIC) or network adapter for communicating with an Ethernet or other wire-based network and/or a wireless NIC (WNIC) or wireless adapter for communicating with a wireless network.

Depending on the embodiment, interface 246 may be any type of interface suitable for any type of network for which information handling system 200 is used. As an example and not by way of limitation, information handling system 200 can include (or communicate with) an ad-hoc network, a personal area network (PAN), a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), or one or more portions of the Internet or a combination of two or more of these. One or more portions of one or more of these networks may be wired or wireless. As an example, information handling system 200 can include (or communicate with) a wireless PAN (WPAN) (such as, for example, a BLUETOOTH WPAN), a WI-FI network, a WI-MAX network, an LTE network, an LTE-A network, a cellular telephone network (such as, for example, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network), or any other suitable wireless network or a combination of two or more of these. The information handling system 200 may include any suitable interface 246 for any one or more of these networks, where appropriate.

In some embodiments, interface 246 may include one or more interfaces for one or more I/O devices. One or more of these I/O devices may enable communication between a person and the information handling system 200. As an example and not by way of limitation, an I/O device may include a keyboard, keypad, microphone, monitor, mouse, printer, scanner, speaker, still camera, stylus, tablet, touchscreen, trackball, video camera, another suitable I/O device or a combination of two or more of these. An I/O device may include one or more sensors. Particular embodiments may include any suitable type and/or number of I/O devices and any suitable type and/or number of interfaces 246 for them. Where appropriate, interface 246 may include one or more drivers enabling processor 242 to drive one or more of these I/O devices. Interface 246 may include one or more interfaces 246, where appropriate.

Bus 252 may include any combination of hardware, software embedded in a computer readable medium, and/or encoded logic incorporated in hardware or otherwise stored (e.g., firmware) to couple components of the information handling system 200 to each other. As an example and not by way of limitation, bus 252 may include an Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) or other graphics bus, an Enhanced Industry Standard Architecture (EISA) bus, a front-side bus (FSB), a HYPERTRANSPORT (HT) interconnect, an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, an INFINIBAND interconnect, a low-pin-count (LPC) bus, a memory bus, a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, a Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, a PCI-Express (PCI-X) bus, a serial advanced technology attachment (SATA) bus, a Video Electronics Standards Association local (VLB) bus, or any other suitable bus or a combination of two or more of these. Bus 252 may include any number, type, and/or configuration of buses 252, where appropriate. In particular embodiments, one or more buses 252 (which may each include an address bus and a data bus) may couple processor 242 to memory 244. Bus 252 may include one or more memory buses.

Herein, reference to a computer-readable storage medium encompasses one or more tangible computer-readable storage media possessing structures. As an example and not by way of limitation, a computer-readable storage medium may include a semiconductor-based or other integrated circuit (IC) (such, as for example, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific IC (ASIC)), a hard disk, an HDD, a hybrid hard drive (HHD), an optical disc, an optical disc drive (ODD), a magneto-optical disc, a magneto-optical drive, a floppy disk, a floppy disk drive (FDD), magnetic tape, a holographic storage medium, a solid-state drive (SSD), a RAM-drive, a SECURE DIGITAL card, a SECURE DIGITAL drive, a flash memory card, a flash memory drive, or any other suitable tangible computer-readable storage medium or a combination of two or more of these, where appropriate.

Particular embodiments may include one or more computer-readable storage media implementing any suitable storage. In particular embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium implements one or more portions of processor 242 (such as, for example, one or more internal registers or caches), one or more portions of memory 244, one or more portions of storage 248, or a combination of these, where appropriate. In particular embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium implements RAM or ROM. In particular embodiments, a computer-readable storage medium implements volatile or persistent memory. In particular embodiments, one or more computer-readable storage media embody encoded software.

Herein, reference to encoded software may encompass one or more applications, bytecode, one or more computer programs, one or more executables, one or more instructions, logic, machine code, one or more scripts, or source code, and vice versa, where appropriate, that have been stored or encoded in a computer-readable storage medium. In particular embodiments, encoded software includes one or more application programming interfaces (APIs) stored or encoded in a computer-readable storage medium. Particular embodiments may use any suitable encoded software written or otherwise expressed in any suitable programming language or combination of programming languages stored or encoded in any suitable type or number of computer-readable storage media. In particular embodiments, encoded software may be expressed as source code or object code. In particular embodiments, encoded software is expressed in a higher-level programming language, such as, for example, C, Perl, or a suitable extension thereof. In particular embodiments, encoded software is expressed in a lower-level programming language, such as assembly language (or machine code). In particular embodiments, encoded software is expressed in JAVA. In particular embodiments, encoded software is expressed in Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), Extensible Markup Language (XML), or other suitable markup language.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a process 300 for deploying an application. In certain embodiments, the process 300 can be triggered on-demand by an administrator, super user or other user for a particular application (e.g., via the user systems 160 in communication with the deployment module 142, both of FIG. 1). The process 300 can be implemented by any system that can process data. For example, the process 300, in whole or in part, can be implemented by one or more of the deployment module 142, the selection engine 144, the container manager 146 and/or one or more of the cloud-provider systems 124. In some cases, the process 300 can be performed generally by the central management system 140 or the computing environment 100. Although any number of systems, in whole or in part, can implement the process 300, to simplify discussion, the process 300 will be described in relation to particular components or systems of the computing environment 100 of FIG. 1.

At block 302, the deployment module 142 determines an application to deploy. In certain embodiments, the application can be determined as a result of user specification or scheduling via, for example, communication between the user systems 160 and the deployment module 142. At block 304, the deployment module 142 identifies containers of the application (e.g., one or more containers). In some cases, the containers can be identified from user input. In other cases, the containers can be identified, for example, from metadata related to the application. For example, such metadata can be received from the user systems 160 or accessed from the one or more data stores 150. In some implementations, the block 302 can result in particular container images being identified or built. In some cases, the particular container images can be stored in the one or more data stores 150.

At block 306, the deployment module 142 determines one or more cloud-provider systems of the cloud-provider systems 124 on which to deploy the application. In some implementations, the one or more cloud-provider systems can be determined via user input received, for example, from one of the user systems 160. In other implementations, the one or more cloud-provider systems can be determined via automatic selection based on, for example, stored settings for a tenant to whom the application corresponds, default settings, metadata related to the application, combinations of same and/or the like. In embodiments in which settings and/or metadata are relied upon, such settings and/or metadata can be retrieved from the one or more data stores 150. In some cases, the application can be permitted to span multiple cloud-provider systems. Thus, in some implementations, multiple cloud-provider systems can be determined at the block 306. An example of functionality that can be performed at the block 306 will be described with respect to FIG. 4.

At block 308, the deployment module 142 causes the identified containers to be deployed on the determined cloud-provider system(s). For example, the deployment module can generate and transmit a scheduling message to each of the determined cloud-provider system(s) which results in the identified containers being deployed. In some embodiments, the identified containers can be deployed as described in relation to the '454 application. In an example, a given scheduling message can identify a particular container of the identified containers, indicate when and for what duration the particular container should be run (e.g., now until midnight Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)). In some implementations, an instance of a container can switch cloud providers at certain times based on factors such as cost and performance.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a process 400 for real-time determination of cloud providers. In certain embodiments, the process 400 can be triggered on-demand by an administrator, super user or other user for a particular application (e.g., via the user systems 160 in communication with the deployment module 142, both of FIG. 1). In certain embodiments, the process 400 can be performed as all or part of the block 306 of FIG. 3. In general, the process 400 can be implemented by any system that can process data. For example, the process 400, in whole or in part, can be implemented by one or more of the deployment module 142, the selection engine 144, the container manager 146 and/or one or more of the cloud-provider systems 124. In some cases, the process 400 can be performed generally by the central management system 140 or the computing environment 100. Although any number of systems, in whole or in part, can implement the process 400, to simplify discussion, the process 400 will be described in relation to particular components or systems of the computing environment 100 of FIG. 1.

At block 402, the selection engine 144 receives a deployment trigger in relation to a particular container. In example, the particular container can be a container identified at the block 304 of FIG. 3. In certain embodiments, the identification of the particular container can constitute the deployment trigger.

At block 404, the selection engine 144 generates a performance inquiry in relation to the particular container. In general, the performance inquiry includes inquiry values corresponding to an arrangement of inquiry fields specified by an information exchange protocol such as the information exchange protocol described above. For example, the inquiry values can include an identifier of the particular container and one or more execution constraints such as, for example, a number of CPUs, a constraint on a physical location where the particular container can be deployed (e.g., a region or locale where the particular container is or is not permitted to execute), a required proximity to other deployed containers, versions of container hosts, etc.

At block 406, the selection engine 144 transmits the performance inquiry to a plurality of cloud providers, such as, for example, the cloud-provider systems 124 of FIG. 1. At block 408, the selection engine 144 receives inquiry responses using the information exchange protocol. The inquiry responses can each include response values corresponding to an arrangement of response fields specified by the information exchange protocol. The response values can include, for example, performance data such as one or more performance metrics. The performance metrics can relate to the performance of currently executing instances of the identified container, historical performance of previously executed instances of the executing container, etc. The response values can further include, for example, time slots of available capacity (e.g., now until 1:00 pm GMT, 5:00 pm to midnight GMT, etc.), an articulation of the available capacity for each of the time slots (e.g., capacity to run 12,000 instances of the particular container in satisfaction of the constraints), a cost for each time slot of available capacity, combinations of the foregoing and/or the like.

At block 408, the selection engine 144 selects a particular cloud provider based, at least in part, on the inquiry responses. The block 408 can include performing various analyses such as, for example, determining additional performance data or price-to-performance measurements (e.g., price to performance ratios). In general, the block 408 can include performing any of the analyses described in the '060 application.

It should be appreciated that, although the foregoing examples are described in relation to so-called cloud-provider systems, in various implementations, the principles described herein are not limited to cloud-provider systems. For example, in some implementations, various forms and combinations of on-premises and off-site hosting can be used instead of cloud-provider systems. In these implementations, container-management agents can be used and implemented in the fashion described above to manage containers for applications.

Depending on the embodiment, certain acts, events, or functions of any of the algorithms described herein can be performed in a different sequence, can be added, merged, or left out altogether (e.g., not all described acts or events are necessary for the practice of the algorithms). Moreover, in certain embodiments, acts or events can be performed concurrently, e.g., through multi-threaded processing, interrupt processing, or multiple processors or processor cores or on other parallel architectures, rather than sequentially. Although certain computer-implemented tasks are described as being performed by a particular entity, other embodiments are possible in which these tasks are performed by a different entity.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, is generally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/or states. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended to imply that features, elements and/or states are in any way required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarily include logic for deciding, with or without author input or prompting, whether these features, elements and/or states are included or are to be performed in any particular embodiment.

While the above detailed description has shown, described, and pointed out novel features as applied to various embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form and details of the devices or algorithms illustrated can be made without departing from the spirit of the disclosure. As will be recognized, the processes described herein can be embodied within a form that does not provide all of the features and benefits set forth herein, as some features can be used or practiced separately from others. The scope of protection is defined by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising, by a computer system: receiving a trigger to deploy a particular container on cloud resources accessible to the computer system, wherein the cloud resources are provided by a plurality of cloud providers, wherein the computer system and the plurality of cloud providers are configured to negotiate container deployment using an information exchange protocol; wherein the information exchange protocol comprises a preconfigured inquiry format, a preconfigured inquiry-response format and a preconfigured scheduling format, the preconfigured inquiry format specifying an arrangement of inquiry fields, the preconfigured inquiry-response format specifying an arrangement of response fields, and the preconfigured scheduling format specifying an arrangement of scheduling fields; responsive to the trigger, generating a performance inquiry in relation to the particular container, wherein the performance inquiry comprises inquiry values corresponding to the arrangement of inquiry fields, wherein the inquiry values comprise an identifier of the particular container and an execution constraint; transmitting the performance inquiry to the plurality of cloud providers; receiving inquiry responses from at least some of the plurality of cloud providers, wherein the inquiry responses each comprise response values corresponding to the arrangement of response fields, the response values indicating capacity to execute the particular container in satisfaction of the execution constraint; and responsive to selection of a particular cloud provider, causing the particular container to be deployed on resources of the particular cloud provider, wherein the causing comprises: generating a scheduling message in relation to the particular container and the particular cloud provider, wherein the scheduling message comprises scheduling values corresponding to the arrangement of scheduling fields, and wherein the scheduling values comprise an instruction to execute the particular container; and transmitting the scheduling message to the particular cloud provider.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein, for at least one of the inquiry responses, the response values comprise a performance metric related to a currently executing instance of the particular container.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the execution constraint indicates a region where the particular container is not permitted to execute.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the execution constraint is selected from the group consisting of a number of central processing units (CPUs), a constraint on a physical location where the particular container can be deployed and a required proximity to at least one other container.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the response values identify one or more time slots of available capacity for the particular container.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the response values comprise an articulation of available capacity for each of the one or more time slots.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the inquiry values and the response values are expressed in a markup language.
 8. An information handling system comprising a processor, wherein the processor is operable to implement a method comprising: receiving a trigger to deploy a particular container on cloud resources accessible to the information handling system, wherein the cloud resources are provided by a plurality of cloud providers, wherein the information handling system and the plurality of cloud providers are configured to negotiate container deployment using an information exchange protocol; wherein the information exchange protocol comprises a preconfigured inquiry format, a preconfigured inquiry-response format and a preconfigured scheduling format, the preconfigured inquiry format specifying an arrangement of inquiry fields, the preconfigured inquiry-response format specifying an arrangement of response fields, and the preconfigured scheduling format specifying an arrangement of scheduling fields; responsive to the trigger, generating a performance inquiry in relation to the particular container, wherein the performance inquiry comprises inquiry values corresponding to the arrangement of inquiry fields, wherein the inquiry values comprise an identifier of the particular container and an execution constraint; transmitting the performance inquiry to the plurality of cloud providers; receiving inquiry responses from at least some of the plurality of cloud providers, wherein the inquiry responses each comprise response values corresponding to the arrangement of response fields, the response values indicating capacity to execute the particular container in satisfaction of the execution constraint; and responsive to selection of a particular cloud provider, causing the particular container to be deployed on resources of the particular cloud provider wherein the causing comprises: generating a scheduling message in relation to the particular container and the particular cloud provider, wherein the scheduling message comprises scheduling values corresponding to the arrangement of scheduling fields, and wherein the scheduling values comprise an instruction to execute the particular container; and transmitting the scheduling message to the particular cloud provider.
 9. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein, for at least one of the inquiry responses, the response values comprise a performance metric related to a currently executing instance of the particular container.
 10. The information handling system of claim 9, wherein the execution constraint indicates a region where the particular container is not permitted to execute.
 11. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein the execution constraint is selected from the group consisting of a number of central processing units (CPUs), a constraint on a physical location where the particular container can be deployed and a required proximity to at least one other container.
 12. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein the response values identify one or more time slots of available capacity for the particular container.
 13. The information handling system of claim 12, wherein the response values comprise an articulation of available capacity for each of the one or more time slots.
 14. The information handling system of claim 8, wherein the inquiry values and the response values are expressed in a markup language.
 15. A computer-program product comprising a non-transitory computer-usable medium having computer-readable program code embodied therein, the computer-readable program code adapted to be executed to implement a method comprising: receiving a trigger to deploy a particular container on cloud resources accessible thereto, wherein the cloud resources are provided by a plurality of cloud providers, wherein computer system and the plurality of cloud providers are configured to negotiate container deployment using an information exchange protocol; wherein the information exchange protocol comprises a preconfigured inquiry format a preconfigured inquiry-response format and a preconfigured scheduling format, the preconfigured inquiry format specifying an arrangement of inquiry fields, the preconfigured inquiry-response format specifying an arrangement of response fields, and the preconfigured scheduling format specifying an arrangement of scheduling fields; responsive to the trigger, generating a performance inquiry in relation to the particular container, wherein the performance inquiry comprises inquiry values corresponding to the arrangement of inquiry fields, wherein the inquiry values comprise an identifier of the particular container and an execution constraint; transmitting the performance inquiry to the plurality of cloud providers; receiving inquiry responses from at least some of the plurality of cloud providers, wherein the inquiry responses each comprise response values corresponding to the arrangement of response fields, the response values indicating capacity to execute the particular container in satisfaction of the execution constraint; and responsive to selection of a particular cloud provider, causing the particular container to be deployed on resources of the particular cloud provider, wherein the causing comprises: generating a scheduling message in relation to the particular container and the particular cloud provider, wherein the scheduling message comprises scheduling values corresponding to the arrangement of scheduling fields, and wherein the scheduling values comprise an instruction to execute the particular container; and transmitting the scheduling message to the particular cloud provider.
 16. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein, for at least one of the inquiry responses, the response values comprise a performance metric related to a currently executing instance of the particular container.
 17. The computer-program product of claim 16, wherein the execution constraint indicates a region where the particular container is not permitted to execute.
 18. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein the execution constraint is selected from the group consisting of a number of central processing units (CPUs), a constraint on a physical location where the particular container can be deployed and a required proximity to at least one other container.
 19. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein the response values identify one or more time slots of available capacity for the particular container.
 20. The computer-program product of claim 19, wherein the response values comprise an articulation of available capacity for each of the one or more time slots. 